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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/27618782">the haunting of apartment 667</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/ghostsarentreal/pseuds/ghostsarentreal'>ghostsarentreal</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Haikyuu!!</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe - Ghosts, Angst, Angst and Humor, Artist Yamaguchi Tadashi, Baker Hinata Shouyou, F/F, Full Time Ghost Tsukishima Kei, Gamer Kageyama Tobio, Graphic Designer Yachi Hitoka, Humor, M/M, Non Volleyball AU, Other, SO MUCH HUMOR, Sharing an apartment, this is just a comedy with elements of, tragic backstory</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-11-19</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-12-08</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-07 03:35:07</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>3</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>10,621</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/27618782</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/ghostsarentreal/pseuds/ghostsarentreal</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Shoyo and Tobio just moved into their brand new, suspiciously cheap apartment and they're loving life already. The amenities are great, the neighbors are nice, and apart from Shoyo's sneaking suspision that they aren't the only one's living in the apartment, everything's just swell!</p><p>Meanwhile, Hitoka, Tadashi and Kei really just want some quality books and videogames to make dead life worth living.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Hinata Shouyou &amp; Kageyama Tobio &amp; Tsukishima Kei &amp; Yachi Hitoka &amp; Yamaguchi Tadashi, Hinata Shouyou &amp; Yachi Hitoka, Hinata Shouyou &amp; Yamaguchi Tadashi, Hinata Shouyou/Kageyama Tobio, Kageyama Tobio &amp; Tsukishima Kei, Shimizu Kiyoko/Yachi Hitoka, Tsukishima Kei &amp; Yachi Hitoka, Tsukishima Kei/Yamaguchi Tadashi, Yachi Hitoka &amp; Yamaguchi Tadashi, barely there Shimizu Kiyoko/Tanaka Ryuunosuke, but in the past - Relationship</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>29</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>115</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. the pilot</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Hey, I've had this idea in my head for a WHILE and it feels so good to just have it out now. Anyways, these chapters are gonna be like, short story formatted. Like mini episodes almost. And don't worry, this story is not at all angsty or deep or anything. The backstory's a little tragic, but other than that it's just plain fun.</p>
    </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>This chapter is a lot longer than the other ones, because it has a lot of backstory and world building and stuff. All the other chapters will probably be around 1-3 thousand words, I swear.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Shoyo was having enough crises about moving in with his highschool crush. He didn’t need any paranormal activity to come and mess up his life anymore than it already was, thank you very much. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Tobio fortunately didn’t notice his panic. To be fair, Tobio was about as emotionally constipated as you can get. But even he could usually tell what Shoyo was thinking after 8 odd years or so of friendship. It was helpful most of the time. Shoyo could break into his house and just play a movie, and Tobio could tell he was having a bad day. In that case, he would make them some tea and curl up next to him to watch the movie with him. It was a good system they had, and it went to show just how close their friendship was. Their close brohood. Materinos for life. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Shoyo wanted to put his head through a wall. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Tobio was ignoring him for the most part. Probably because Shoyo wasn’t helping him in the slightest with moving boxes into their new place. It was a nice place, way too nice for the price they got it. Two bedrooms, a spacious living room, a beautiful balcony with a view of the city, a giant bathroom, and an adorable kitchen. And somehow two fresh college graduates with minimum wage jobs could afford it. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>There was definitely a catch. Shoyo and Tobio just didn’t care enough to consider it. Demons could rip out their hearts for all they cared, they just needed their kitchen space. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Tobio grunted as he placed a heavy box of books in the living room. Shoyo frowned from his place on the floor. No furniture had arrived yet, so he was currently laying on the wooden floor, staring up at the fan that gave them little air during this heat wave. “Why do we even own so many books? Neither of us read.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Tobio glared at him. “These are all yours. I’ve never seen you willingly pick up a book in your life. I’m convinced you packed these because you hate me.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Shoyo shrugged. “Maybe so. What are you going to do about it?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Tobio let out a couple of choice words, and narrowly ducked under the spatula Shoyo tried to hit him with before going back to get the rest of the boxes. Shoyo laughed at him as he struggled with another box, and turned back to his phone. Kenma was texting him about the move. He quickly sent a text back, before smiling back up at Tobio. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>No matter what weird feeling he had, Tobio was still his best friend. They were never awkward around each other. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Shoyo flopped back down on the floor and shut his eyes, trying to feel a little cold air from the fan. They would be fine. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hey asshole.” Tobio threw a kitchen towel at him. “If you’re not going to help me move boxes, you could at least unpack.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Shoyo threw the towel back at him. Tobio threw a random toy at him in retaliation. Soon, they were running around the apartment, emptying out all the boxes while throwing stuff at each other. They ran out of things to throw soon enough, and ended up on the floor wrestling. Shoyo kicked Tobio off of him, and he landed on his stomach on the hard floor. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“OW! FUCK!” Tobio screamed, rubbing his head. Shoyo threw his head back and laughed. And surrounded by all of their belongings scattered all over the apartment, Tobio started laughing too. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Yeah, they’d be fine. </span><br/>
<br/>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I fucking hate the new residents. Are you sure we can’t just kill them?” Kei deadpanned from his place on the roof. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No, we can’t just kill them. Thanks for finally joining us, by the way.” Yachi rolled her eyes and gestured to a place next to her for Kei to sit. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Kei glared at her and sat down. “They’ve been in the flat for like, 10 minutes. They don’t even have any furniture. And they’ve already managed to make a mess of the whole place and get 5 complaints from neighbors. It’s a nightmare.” Kei rubbed his temples at the memory. He was just supposed to go back downstairs to get some mats for their weekly tea sessions. Once he had sunk through the floor to get the mats, he found that the mats were nowhere in sight. Instead, the entire flat looked like it had gotten turned over in a raid. Shit was thrown around everywhere, and the wall now had a new dent in it. Kei followed a scream into one of the bedrooms, where two boys were punching each other in a strangely loving way. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Kei took one look at them and left the room, cursing the spirits for not killing him permanently. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Tadashi shrugged, and poured some tea into a cup. The green glob fizzed and steamed upon contact with the cup, and nearly melted the glass. He pushed the cup towards Kei, who downed it in one gulp. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Spirits, Tsukishima. It’s tea, not vodka,” Yachi muttered. Tadashi gave her a look, before turning back to Kei. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“If they’re already getting so many complaints, they’ll be out before we know it. No killing necessary. Right?” he asked kindly. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Kei shook his head. “Nope. After they got the complaints, the orange one roped the mean one into making a bunch of muffins and they gave them out to the people who complained. Apparently the orange one felt bad and wanted to make it up to them. They all love him now. He’s invited to like, five bingo games. I want to rip his throat out.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Tadashi laughed, and Kei hated that his mood was lifted by that. He was supposed to be mad, goddamn it. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“He sounds kind of like Yacchan back when she was a living,” Tadashi snorted, pouring another cup of the fizzing tea. Yachi shrugged. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, I can’t even argue with that. I was a maaajor people pleaser.” She tipped her cup of tea like it was a wine glass and took a long sip. “Now, I’m not even a </span>
  <em>
    <span>people</span>
  </em>
  <span>.”</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>“Astute.” Kei adjusted his glasses. “You want a medal for that groundbreaking realization?” Yachi flipped him off while sipping her tea, and the two of them dissolved into laughter. Tadashi shook his head and sighed. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Why do I still put up with you two?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s not like you have a choice,” Kei pointed out. Tadashi sighed again. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Very true. Very true.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Kei tapped on the floor of the roof to grab their attention. “So? How are we getting rid of these two? Scare plot? Freak microwave incident? Stair push, again? Not that I’ve ever implemented a stair push plot before. Because that would be blunt force and we don't do that here.”  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Tadashi and Yachi exchanged a look, which instantly set off red flags for Kei. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Tadashi started. “Well, actually-”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Kei’s eyes widened, and he shook his head. “Oh no. Don’t even tell me you’re considering-” Kei nearly gagged at the second half of his sentence, “-</span>
  <em>
    <span>keeping them around</span>
  </em>
  <span>?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It might be nice?” Tadashi winced. “We haven’t ever kept people around. And they seem nice enough. Kind of chaotic, but nice.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Kei blinked. “But that’s our house. We’ve never let people stay there. And those other people weren’t half as annoying as the assholes currently downstairs.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’ll be fine! Oikawa and Iwaizumi are doing it! Apparently they got this couple a few months ago, and it’s awesome! They’ve got a TV, video games, books, and the couple doesn’t even know that they’re there! We don’t even have a TV, Tsukki,” Tadashi pleaded. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Kei cursed under his breath. Fucking Oikawa and Iwaizumi. They were talking to Tadashi a lot nowadays. They were probably gushing about their fancy new TV to him. He was going to send them to the Netherworld next time he saw them. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What’s wrong with just visiting another apartment and using the TV there? We do it all the time?” He shrugged. Tadashi pouted and Kei swore he was going to be the death of him. Well. The deathier death of him. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s just not the same! It’s better in our apartment, don’t you think? Because then it feels like ours.” Tadashi reached out to grab Kei’s hand and Kei decided then and there that Tadashi was the cutest little </span>
  <em>
    <span>fucking manipulator</span>
  </em>
  <span> out there. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He turned to Yachi, whose head was swiveling back and forth to look at Kei and Tadashi, like they were playing an intense volley. </span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>“Are you not going to give your input? Or are you just hiding behind Tadashi because you think I’ll listen to him?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Yachi shrugged. “What do you mean, ‘You think I’ll listen to him?’ You’re telling me he doesn’t have you wrapped around his little finger? You’re supposed to be the smart one here, Tsukishima.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Kei was about to protest, when he turned back to Tadashi, who was staring up at him with big, pleading eyes. Kei scrutinized him, to make sure he wasn’t turning on his emotional control or anything. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Nope. Nothing. Just Kei being a gay idiot. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Ok, fine. We can keep them around. For now.” Kei grumbled. Tadashi’s smile grew tenfold, and he wrapped Kei in a hug. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Thank you! I swear, you are not going to regret this.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Ghosts technically can not blush. They no longer have a beating heart to pump blood through their body. Therefore, the bloodrush that causes a blush can’t happen while you are dead. Kei thanked the spirits for making him a ghost so he didn’t have to go through that embarrassing ordeal as he hugged Tadashi back. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>From behind Tadashi, Yachi mouthed a word. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Whipped. </span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>Kei flipped her off. </span>
</p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p><p>
  <span>Shoyo was getting a strange feeling. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He had just gotten back from a tiring day at work. He was working at a new, hipster coffee shop down the road. It was nothing like the coffee shop romances he had heard about, which was infinitely disappointing. Tobio promised him that when he opened his own bakery, it would be a lot more interesting. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Tobio was still working at the arcade, so Shoyo had the apartment for himself. He was considering settling down in a nice bubble bath with a cup of wine. Maybe that would calm him down a bit. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Shoyo put his bag on the couch, which had arrived a few days ago. He turned off the TV, which was currently playing some old movie. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Wait. His hand lingered on the remote. The TV was playing a movie?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Shoyo ran through the events of the day. Tobio had left earlier, to finalize the rest of the furniture orders. He didn’t return home after that. Shoyo was watching TV before leaving for work. But he remembered turning the TV off. And wasn’t he watching a volleyball game? </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Shoyo shook his head and yawned. He dropped the remote back on the moving box they were using for a coffee table. It had been a long day. He really needed that bath. He made a mental note to ask Tobio if he came back home after going to the furniture store, and retreated to the bathroom. </span>
</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>
  <span>From the attic, Hitoka hit Tadashi and Tsukishima in the back of the head lightly. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Guys! You couldn’t remember to turn off the TV?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Shut up, Yachi,” Tsukishima muttered, and curled up in a ball to go to sleep. Tadashi mumbled his agreement through a yawn, and curled up next to him. Hitoka sighed, and sunk down into the room. She peaked through the apartment, to make sure no one was still there. She searched around the room to make sure Tadashi and Tsukishima didn’t leave anything else behind. She then pulled out Hinata’s Switch and left it where he did before he left. It was a little down on battery from when she was playing with it, but how could he tell? </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Hitoka sighed to herself, and shook her head. “I am the only thing holding this goddamn family together.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Tsukishima! Are they coming soon?” Yachi called over the shoulder, not taking her eyes off the screen. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Kei barely looked up from his book. “I just checked five minutes ago. They aren’t coming. It’s like you're </span>
  <em>
    <span>trying</span>
  </em>
  <span> to send me to the Netherworld.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Yachi rolled her eyes and turned back to the game. Kei watched the two of them as they swung their Switch controllers around wildly. They were playing Samurai Training, which Tadashi thought was the best game on 1-2 Switch. Yachi preferred Quick Draw. Kei liked making fun of them for playing. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>In their defense, they hadn’t gotten their hands on good video games in years. The last person who lived here was an old lady in 2018, who got cat hair all over their stuff and made the place reek of potpourri. She unfortunately did not come with any good video games, which was part of the reason why Kei pushed her down the stairs and made her move into another complex. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Not that he would ever admit that to Tadashi and Yachi. They didn’t really like driving out people using blunt force. He suspected that they knew anyways. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>As much as Kei hated sharing his space with the new boys, he had to admit he found the commodities nice. They brought a huge stack of books that Kei had never heard of, which was a pity because it seemed like neither of the living knew how to read. Or think, for that matter. Kei once saw the grumpy looking boy nearly stick his hand in a moving blender to get something out. He had looked to Tadashi, to see if he had changed his mind and did in fact want to chase the boys out by making the idiot boy stick his hand in a blender, but he had shaken his head at him in an incredulous look on his face. Turns out, Tadashi wasn’t working his mind control magic. The boy was just an idiot. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>They also brought in a TV, lots of board games, DVD’s of almost every movie known to man, and a ton of nail polish. Yachi and Tadashi had a field day when they saw the nail polish. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>But the video games. Holy shit, did they bring in a lot of video games. Kei knew one of them worked at some video game store or arcade or whatever, but even he had to admit that their collection of video games was the most glorious thing he had ever seen.  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh, for the spirits sake!” Yachi threw her controller at Tadashi, who apparently panicked and dissipated his form. The controller passed through his and landed on the couch.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You can’t just dissipate like that, Tadashi. What if the controller broke?” Kei remarked in a bored voice. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Tadashi winced. “Sorry. I just panicked.” He turned back to Yachi. “Why did you THROW the controller at me?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I don’t know, Yams. Why do you keep winning this stupid game?” Yachi threw her hands up in exasperation. “I give up. I literally give up. 7 fucking years stuck with you and I still can’t beat you at videogames.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hm.” Tadashi snickered. “Maybe if you actually got good at it. Practiced a little more. Or maybe I’m just naturally better.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Kei stifled a laugh, and Yachi glared at him. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You wanna go, specs? I’ll beat you so hard, you’ll get knocked into the living.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Yachi was 5’2, 5’3 at best. To anyone other than her closest friends, she was the timidest person in the world. She hardly ever spoke, and when she did, it was in apologies. She had the combined arm and leg strength of a small otter. Kei was 6’5, and could make people burst out into tears by just looking at them. And that was when he was </span>
  <em>
    <span>living</span>
  </em>
  <span>.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>That being said, he fully believed Yachi’s threat, and put his hands up in retreat. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Tadashi laughed softly, and moved across the room to ruffle Kei’s hair. “I can’t believe you’re actually scared of her.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Kei huffed. “I am not scared of her. The fight would have been too pathetic. I could literally pick her up and throw her out the window.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Tadashi snorted. “Yeah, right. I’d like to see you try.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>The pair looked at Yachi, who was playing another game on the TV. She smiled sweetly at them. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You know,” Kei whispered to Tadashi. “I think I liked it better when she was scared of us.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Tadashi moved to swat his arm, when he froze. He stared behind Kei in horror. Kei frowned and turned around to see what Tadashi looked so terrified of. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Yachi dropped the controller on the ground. Kei swore loudly. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh-”</span>
</p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p><p>
  <span>“Fuck.” Tobio finished. He pulled Shoyo inside, and slammed the door shut. “Call the police! Tell them someone broke in.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You idiot!” Shoyo ignored his statement completely. “Why would you lock us INSIDE with the people who broke in?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>A very valid question. Tobio resented it.  A look of offense briefly replaced Tobio’s panic. “I panicked!” He then grabbed his shoe, and pointed it menacingly at the three people standing/sitting in his living room. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Who are you guys? Why are you here?” he demanded. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>The tall, blond guy stared at the show apathetically. “And if I don’t tell you… you’ll throw a shoe at me?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Tobio faltered. His weapon of choice wasn’t exactly the deadliest thing in the world. But did that really matter at the moment? He waved the shoe even menacingly. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That’s right. I got these boots steel tipped so I could make this hag at the arcade feel like she was being stalked by a punk. This shit </span>
  <em>
    <span>hurts.</span>
  </em>
  <span> So you better tell me!” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Tobio gave him a mental pat on the back. That was a good one. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>The blond guy was still staring at him in disbelief. Another blond girl behind him squeaked. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Um. We live here? Kind of?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Tobio lowered the shoe slightly. “Uh. No you don’t. We live here.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yes! You do!” The girl nodded vigorously. “But we also live here?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Tobio blinked. “You lost me.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The blond guy snorted. “Somehow, I don’t think it takes much to confuse you.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Tobio was really starting to get pissed off by that guy. “You shut up. You’ve done nothing but lie since we’ve got here.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The boy sputtered. “I didn’t even say anything!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>A boy with brown hair placed a hand on the blond’s arm, making him stand down. He cleared his throat. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Ok. Let’s just all calm down. We can explain exactly what’s going on. Come and sit down. And nobody call the police just yet, alright?.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>A wave of calmness washed over Tobio. Tobio decided that he liked this guy. He calmly put his shoe down and sat down on the couch along with Shoyo, who had put down his phone. Tobio swore Shoyo was about to do something with his phone, but he honestly didn’t care at this point. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yams, you have got to teach me how to do that,” the blond girl whispered in awe. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>The blond guy snorted. “Yachi, you’d freeze up so much, you couldn’t even get a normal word out, much less a magic, calming word.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Tobio cocked his head to the side. “Magic, calming word?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>As if on cue, the brunette, Yams, collapsed on the armchair. The blond guy’s smug expression melted off and he ran to kneel by Yams. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Tadashi? Are you alright?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He gave the blond guy a weak thumbs up, who then sighed in relief. “Just feeling kinda weak today. Don’t you worry, the Nether’s not taking me today.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>The calming spell faded quickly, but Tobio was too stunned to get up and start screaming again. He inhaled, and asked a simple question. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Who the fuck are you guys?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The trio stared at each other. Understanding passed through them. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>The blonde girl- Yachi- cleared her throat. “Well-”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You guys are ghosts.” Shoyo spoke up after being uncharacteristically quiet for a while. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>All heads turned to him. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“How did- how did you know?” Yams narrowed his eyes at him. “I saw you water a fake plant for a week. You aren’t exactly the most perceptive person.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Tadashi! Be nice!” The boys glared at Yachi when she said that. Tobio must have missed something between them. “But yeah, we are ghosts. How did you know?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Shoyo shrugged. “Well, stuff kept turning on when I was sure I turned them off. And I thought I could hear people talking. But I thought that was just new place jitters but I was also like ‘GWAHHH WOULDN’T IT BE COOL IF WE HAD GHOSTS!’ but I obviously knew that ghosts aren’t real- er. Well I thought that ghosts aren’t real. Anyways, whatever his name is-” Shoyo gestured to Yams, “-mentioned a “Nether” and that was like the Netherworld in Beetlejuice, right? That English movie with Wynonna Ryder? And he did some weird magicky thing. Plus, the realtor told me that three people died here anyways, so you guys must be those ghosts. Right?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The blond guy blinked. “I understood less than half of that.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Tobio would have sympathized with the blond. When he first met Shoyo, a wide eyed, annoying nerd in first year, he could barely understand a word that came out of his overactive mouth. Now, after 8 years of friendship, Tobio could understand anything Shoyo said. Which is why he was royally pissed. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m sorry?” he yelled. “The realtor told you </span>
  <em>
    <span>what</span>
  </em>
  <span>?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Shoyo shrugged. “How was I supposed to know that the three people would still be here! The place was cheap! We’re struggling!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Not that much! Definitely not that much! Now we’re going to be killed by a couple of ghosts because you thought rent was more important than our lives!”</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Shoyo paused, and shrugged lightly. “Well-”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We aren’t killing anyone,” the brunette interrupted. “Right?” He shot a look at the blond, who rolled his eyes. “Right.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Ok.” Shoyo was surprisingly calm. Maybe the brunettes spell didn’t completely fade off of him yet. “So, what do you want with us?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Yachi shrugged. “Nothing. We just want to live here. We can’t leave the building, and we have nowhere else to go. This was our apartment too.” The blond cleared his throat, but Yachi ignored him. “We honestly won’t get in your way too much. We mainly stay upstairs.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Tobio quirked an eyebrow. “Upstairs?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Most of the apartments here have a huge, attic sort of thing. It’s not accessible to anyone, it's just for plumbing and stuff. We have a whole setup there, beds, board games, anything. It’s just nice to come down here and hang out. Your video game selection is awesome.” The brunette smiled at the two of them. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Shoyo puffed his chest out in pride. “Right! We spent ages collecting that thing! Some of the things we have in there are ancient!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He grinned wildly. “I know! It’s so cool! My name is Yamaguchi, by the way. That’s Yachi-” he gestured to the blonde girl, “-and this is Tsukki.” He gestured to the other blond guy.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Tsukishima. Not Tsukki,” Tsukishima corrected. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Right, definitely not Tsukki,” Yamaguchi agreed. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Tobio snorted. “What’s going to happen if I call you Tsukki? It’s not like you’re going to kill us.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Tsukishima and Yachi exchanged a glance and grinned while Yamaguchi smiled at him sweetly. Tobio instantly got bad vibes from this.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You know, the last person who lived here fell down the stairs. Terrible accident. Really, really unfortunate. It definitely wasn’t us, we </span>
  <em>
    <span>hate </span>
  </em>
  <span>using blunt force.  I would hate for it to happen to our new, lovely residents!” Yamaguchi beamed.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Tsukishima and Yachi covered their faces with their hands to hide their laughter. Tobio gulped. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Tsukishima it is.” </span>
</p><p><br/>
<br/>
<br/>
</p><p>
  <span>It had been two weeks since Shoyo discovered the ghosts living in their apartment. Life surprisingly, wasn’t much different. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>The ghosts didn’t talk to them much. Sometimes, one or two of them were watching a movie when Shoyo got back from work. When that happened, the ghosts would mutter a small apology and phase out. The phasing freaked Shoyo out at first, but he got used to it after a few days. Yachi would talk to him occasionally while he was making dinner. He told her about his dream of opening a bakery or a coffee shop, and she would listen eagerly, sharing her own dreams about becoming a graphic designer. They weren’t friends, exactly, but it was nice to talk to her. Yamaguchi would help them clean up sometimes. One time, he challenged Shoyo to a round of Mario Kart. Shoyo lost. He demanded a rematch. He lost that one as well. Tobio had snickered meanly behind them, and Shoyo kicked him. Tsukishima rarely ever showed up, but Shoyo caught him one time, asleep in an armchair with a book resting on his lap. Yamaguchi had put a finger to his lips to signify silence, and Shoyo was too scared of both of them to disobey. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>But overall, Shoyo still knew nothing about the ghosts. How did they end up there? How did being a ghost even work? He wondered if it was rude to just ask one of them how they died. How exactly did ghost etiquette work?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Shoyo got back from another tedious day at the coffee shop. The living room was empty- the ghosts must be upstairs. He sank into the couch and sighed. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Boo.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Shoyo screamed and nearly jumped off the couch. Yamaguchi laughed softly from his place on the couch. “I can’t believe you fell for that. I’ve been wanting to do something like that since I became a ghost.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Shoyo pouted at him, and sank back into the couch, crossing his arms across his chest. “Not funny. Where are the others?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Yamaguchi pointed up. “Sleeping.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Shoyo nodded, questions burning in his head. Sleeping? Why did ghosts need to sleep? </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Why do ghosts need to sleep?” Yamaguchi asked. Shoyo froze. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh, I didn’t mean to ask that out loud! I’m sorry! I’m so sorry-” he was cut off by Yamaguchi’s laughter. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Don’t apologize. I don’t mind any questions about this. Neither does Yachi, by the way. You live here with us now, so you deserve to know whatever you want to know about us. Ask away.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Shoyo nodded. “So, why do ghosts need to sleep?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Yamaguchi shrugged. “Same as humans, I guess. It takes up a lot of energy, being a ghost. Especially phasing and floating and using powers. Some ghosts choose to stay invisible, which takes more energy. Ghosts aren’t transparent as a default, believe it or not. It takes a little extra energy to stay transparent for a long amount of time.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Shoyo zoned out after hearing Yamaguchi mention powers. “Powers!” Shoyo beamed. “What kind of powers do you have?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well.” Yamaguchi laughed nervously. “Tsukki can see into the future. But not by much. Maybe like, five minutes. He was supposed to be on the lookout for you guys that day. Yachi yelled at him a lot for not listening to her and ‘neglecting his watch.’” Yamaguchi held up air quotes when he said, ‘neglecting his watch.’ “I can control emotions, to an extent. I can amplify pre existing emotions. It takes a lot more energy for me to bring out new emotions. That’s why I almost faded during that first day.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Ohh.” Shoyo recalled the way Yamaguchi almost passed out on the armchair. “And Yachi?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Yamaguchi snorted. “She glows.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Shoyo blinked. “She… glows?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yup. She hates it.” Yamaguchi looked incredibly amused. Shoyo was enjoying this cheeky side of him. “She wishes she got a cool power like we did. But like, there’s some merit in being a human glow stick, I guess.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hey! Glowing is awesome. You’d be like… a fairy! Or a glowing mushroom!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Yamaguchi snorted again. “I’ll be sure to tell her that you compared her to a glowing mushroom. Thanks, Hinata.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Wait, no-” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Any other questions?” Yamaguchi turned on the TV, where a cooking show was playing. The contestants were anxiously chopping up various meats while the timer ticked down. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Shoyo nodded. “So. Ghosts need sleep, like humans. But do you guys eat? I don’t think I’ve ever seen you eat.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Yamaguchi shook his head. “We technically can eat human foods. It just doesn’t agree with us at all. We usually live off of this sludgy, liquidy thing. We turn it into tea most of the time, but sometimes we’ll bake it into bread. None of us are great chefs.” Yamaguchi shrugged. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Can humans eat the liquid?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Yamaguchi laughed. “Maybe if you wanted a one way trip to the Nether.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Shoyo shuddered. “Can we touch it, though?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Yamaguchi frowned. “I think so. Oikawa’s spilled his tea on humans before and they didn’t die from that. Why do you ask?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Shoyo shook his head, and filed away ideas for different baked goods using the liquid. “Forget it. What’s the Nether?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Ah, the Netherworld. It’s our cute little name for the place ghosts go when they fade.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Fade?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Yamaguchi winced. “A ghosts version of death. We basically fade from the human dimension and are stuck in the hell dimension forever. I’ve never fully been in the Nether, no ghost in this building has. I don’t even think you can go in the Nether without getting permanently lost.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Shoyo shuddered. That sounded like a nightmare. Yamaguchi looked scared even talking about it. “What do you mean by ‘fade from the human dimension?’”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Yamaguchi faltered with his hands a bit, before grabbing a pencil and paper. “Ok, so.” He drew a circle. “This is the human dimension.” He drew another circle around the human dimension. “This is the Netherworld. Or the hell dimension. They basically sit on top of each other. Demons are on one side, humans on the other. Ghosts are mainly in the human dimension, but we’re connected to the Nether. That’s what gives us powers, and the ability to phase out and float and whatever. When we fade, we close all connections to the human world, and we get stuck in the Nether. Understand?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Not at all. “Mostly,” Shoyo managed. “So, how do you fade?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Ever seen Coco? That one Disney movie?” Shoyo nodded. “That’s one of the ways. When everyone alive forgets us, we fade. If you overexert your powers, that’s a one way road to the Nether.” Yamaguchi was counting these down on his fingers. “You can also ‘kill’ us.” Yamaguchi put up air quotes when he said the word “kill.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Shoyo scrunched up his eyebrows. “How do you kill a ghost?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Yamaguchi arched a brow. “Coming up with weekend plans, are we?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No, no! Nothing like that! Oh my gosh, I’m so sorry-” Shoyo blanched as he waved his hands in front of him. Yamaguchi burst out laughing.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m just teasing, don’t worry! I know you wouldn’t.” Yamaguchi punched Shoyo in the arm lightly. Shoyo rubbed his arm, letting out his own nervous laughter. That punch sure felt real. Yamaguchi didn’t seem like a ghost. Between the way he talked and how solid and realistic his movements were, Shoyo could easily mistake him for a normal human.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I wonder how many people I’ve passed by who were ghosts,” Shoyo wondered out loud. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Yamaguchi’s eyes were trained on the cooking channel as he waved a hand dismissively. “Probably not many. People rarely get turned into ghosts. You only become a ghost if you die before you were supposed to. It kinda causes a glitch in the Matrix, so to speak. Your destiny sorta got fucked with, and the world didn’t know how to cope with it. So now, you’re kinda stuck halfway. Most people just die normally.” Yamaguchi rolled his eyes. “Must be nice.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Yamaguchi’s bitterness didn’t go unnoticed. Shoyo scotched up closer to him and wrapped an arm around his shoulders. “I’m sorry, Yamaguchi. It must not be fun to be stuck like this.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Yamaguchi seemed frozen, and after a bit he hugged Shoyo back. “Thanks. It’s not too bad,” he shrugged. “At least I’m stuck with Yacchan and Tsukki. There are definitely worse people to be stuck with.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Shoyo wrinkled his nose. “Yachi is nice. Tsukishima’s really stingy though.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Yamaguchi laughed softly. “Yeah, Tsukki’s always like that. Give him a bit to warm up to you, he can be a real sweetheart sometimes.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Shoyo stared at Yamaguchi to see if he was making a joke. He apparently wasn’t. Shoyo huffed and sank inside the couch cushion. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Easy for you to say.” Then, just in case Tsukishima also had super hearing, he leaned in closer to Yamaguchi and whispered: “I think he likes you. Like, romantically.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Shoyo smiled triumphantly at him, like he had just uncovered a government secret. Yamaguchi’s eyes widened. He covered his mouth, probably to hide his gasp. “Really? Do you think so?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Shoyo nodded solemnly. “Definitely. It’s the way he looks at you.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Yamaguchi looked down at the floor, and nodded, possibly in deep thought. Shoyo instantly felt a pang of regret. He didn’t mean to mess up what was surely a very deep friendship between them. And if Tsukishima found out that Shoyo was the one who revealed his true feelings, Hinata had a feeling he was going to be forcefully ejected into the Nether. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well.” Yamaguchi finally said. His voice was slightly wobbly. “That’s quite reassuring. Especially because we’ve been engaged for the past 7 years.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Shoyo was about to apologize, when he stopped dead in his tracks.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Wait. What?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Yamaguchi burst out into laughter. He held his stomach as he doubled over on the couch, having to muffle his laughter with a couch cushion. He held out his left hand, where a slight, silver colored ring was sitting on his ring finger. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Shoyo grabbed his hand and pulled it closer to examine the band. He flushed. “Oh my god. How the hell did I not notice that?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Honestly! How did you figure out we were ghosts in like… 3 seconds, but you seriously thought-” Yamaguchi buried his head in the couch cushions again to muffle his laughter. Shoyo hit him over the head with a pillow, but that just made him laugh harder. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Ok. ok. I’m good.” Yamaguchi emerged from the couch cushion, hair completely messed up and eyes still teared up. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You suck,” Shoyo remarked astutely, before turning his attention to the TV. A chef was presenting her beef and pork mince sautée with a bed of grilled arugula and seaweed calamari. Shoyo personally thought there were too many types of food on one platter. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>One part of Yamaguchi’s story stood out to him, though. “Did you say you’ve been engaged for 7 years? That’s a long time.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Yamaguchi shrugged. “Well, it’s not like we could have gotten married legally back when we were living, anyways. But yeah, we died 7 years ago, when we were 23. Before any ceremony or anything.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Hinata was quiet for a bit. “Would it be rude if I asked how? And why Yachi was there?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Yamaguchi shook his head. “No, that’s fine. It was a fire. Yachi was visiting us that day. We were going to go out to get dinner, and agreed to meet up at me and Tsukki’s flat. We were just sitting and talking for a bit before it was time to catch the reservation, and someone threw a Molotov cocktail through the window, and shut it. The fire got caught on everything. We tried the windows, they were all jammed. Door too…” Yamaguchi trailed off, and Shoyo wanted to hit himself over the head for asking.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to bring up any bad memories.” Shoyo placed a comforting hand on Yamaguchi’s shoulder. Yamaguchi smiled weakly at him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh, please don’t apologize. It’s fine. Anyways, we woke up in the apartment a few days ago. We didn’t feel dead, so we wandered around for a bit. Luckily, no one was awake during then. We found out that we physically couldn’t leave the apartment building, and had a minor freak out. Some old timer here found us and taught us the ropes, and that’s all she wrote.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Shoyo nodded again, not sure what to say. “So, you guys have been 23 for 7 years? That must be rough. I’ve only been 23 for a few months and I hate it.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Yamaguchi crackled. “Oh, youth. Enjoy it while it lasts. Hey look, that lamb chop guy won.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Shoyo turned to the screen, where the lamb chop guy was indeed accepting his award. “One last question.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Shoot.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Why don’t you guys ever spend more time down here?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Yamaguchi turned to Shoyo and shrugged. “I thought we weren’t supposed to bother you.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well, as much as I love Tobio,” Shoyo flushed against his own will, “it gets boring playing board games with just one person. We should all play charades or something.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Charades,” Yamaguchi repeated softly. A small smile was plastered across his face. “That would be fun.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>So when Tobio came home after a long day at the arcade, Yamaguchi sank down with Yachi and Tsukishima behind him. Shoyo was busy setting up a game of charades.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Shoyo? What did you do?” Tobio asked slowly. Shoyo smiled up at him brightly. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Get inside, loser. We’re playing charades.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Yachi and Shoyo crushed them all. </span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. finding kiyoko</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Shoyo knew a Shimizu Kiyoko. He didn’t know if it was The Shimizu Kiyoko. But it was definitely a Shimizu Kiyoko. How many Shimizu Kiyoko’s even lived near this area?</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>A flat of 2 people and 3 non-people was never quiet.</p><p>If Tobio and Shoyo weren’t yelling at each other, Tobio would be fighting with Tsukishima. Or Yamaguchi, Yachi and Shoyo would be having a terrible sing off. Or the ghosts would be experimenting with their powers, which always ended with something breaking.</p><p>
  <em>Yachi held a hand out and closed her eyes, making it glow. The glow increased, forming a small, glowing sphere in her hand.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>“WOAH!” Shoyo exclaimed, leaning over the counter to feel the glowing sphere. It radiated heat, and made Shoyo feel all warm and toasty inside.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Yachi smiled at his encouragement, and focused harder. The glowing sphere expanded to the size of a volleyball. Shoyo moved back a little, to give Yachi room.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>“Yachi, that’s getting really big. Maybe we should-”</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Yachi ignored Yamaguchi and focused harder. The sphere expanded again. Out of the corner of his eye, Shoyo saw Tsukishima discreetly pull Yamaguchi behind the couch. Yamaguchi looked at him inquisitively.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>“Why-”</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Before he could finish his question, the ball of light fizzed out of Yachi’s hand and exploded, splashing weird goop everywhere.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Shoyo wiped the goop off his face, careful not to swallow any. He looked at Yamaguchi, who was standing a centimeter away from the damage. He turned to Tsukishima.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>“You saw that coming! Why didn’t you say anything?”</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Tsukishima shrugged. “Did I have to?”</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Yachi flicked goop from her face onto Tsukishima’s. Her face screamed murder. “You have five seconds to run.”</em>
</p><p>
  <em>They ran.</em>
</p><p>Shoyo was used to a hectic house. His own house when he was a kid was just as hectic. He enjoyed it, actually. There was never a dull moment, and he was living for it. But today was strangely quiet. The coffee shop was closed for today, some yellow bellied lizard strike was going on, and Tobio was out for work. The ghosts were nowhere to be seen. Shoyo took this as his day, and turned on an old murder mystery movie.</p><p>“Ooo,” he heard a small voice behind him. He turned around, where Yachi was smiling at him nervously. “I haven’t seen that movie in ages. Mind if I join you?”</p><p>“Not at all!” Shoyo gestured to the couch and Yachi joined him. They sat in silence for half the movie, occasionally laughing at a scene, or pointing out inconsistencies. Hinata ran most of the conversations, as per usual.</p><p>“You’re pretty quiet, you know.” Shoyo said. “I mean, there’s nothing wrong with that! You’re just super different around Yamaguchi and Tsukishima. Like, more outgoing.”</p><p>Yachi laughed softly. “Well, maybe if I knew you for…” she trailed off, counting something off her fingers, “15 years, then I’d be just as comfortable around you.”</p><p>Hinata shrugged. “Fair enough. Where are they, anyways? I haven’t seen them all day.”</p><p>“On the roof, I think.” Yachi waved a hand vaguely up. “I think they wanted some time alone.” She rolled her eyes and looked at Shoyo knowingly. “Couples, am I right?”</p><p>Shoyo didn’t know how to react to that. He had never really third wheeled anyone before. If anything, people always end up third wheeling whenever he and Tobio hang out with them. And he could only imagine that going to the mall was a lot different than being stuck in an apartment complex together for 7 years. “Must be tough, getting stuck with them for basically an eternity.”</p><p>“Right!” Yachi exclaimed. She had sat upright on the couch and her eyes were sparkling. “Don’t get me wrong, I love them to death. Literally. But spirits, 7 years alone with them was tedious.” Yachi shuddered and Shoyo had to symphatize with her. “When I found out that two people around our age were coming to stay here, spirits, you have no idea how relieved I was. I basically fought to convince Yamaguchi to convince Tsukishima to keep you here.”</p><p>“Awww, I appreciate it!” Shoyo laughed. “That must really be lonely though, getting stuck with a couple for that long. I remember having to spend a weekend with my friends, they were a couple, and that was a NIGHTMARE. Imagine 7 years…” he shuddered. “Don’t you have anyone like that though? Like a ghost boyfriend or something?”</p><p>Yachi went quiet, and Shoyo knew instantly that he struck a nerve.</p><p>“I did have someone. We were supposed to go out with Tsukishima and Yamaguchi the day we died. She had to cancel. Otherwise, she would have died with us.” Yachi’s voice was impossibly small.</p><p>Shoyo gaped at the “she.” “Your girlfriend?” Shoyo asked softly, and Yachi nodded.</p><p>Offhandedly, Shoyo marvelled at the fact that literally everyone in this goddamn apartment was gay. Even all the fucking <em>ghosts</em>. He made a mental note to buy them all a pride flag later.</p><p>“I’m so sorry, do you want to talk about it?” he asked, trying to keep his voice as calm as possible. Yachi shook her head.</p><p>“It’s weird to talk about. It’s like, she’s gone, but she’s not actually gone. She’s probably out there somewhere, living her life without me.” Yachi laughed softly. To Shoyo’s surprise, it wasn’t bitter at all. “It’s been 7 years, I hope she’s moved on. She has to have moved on.” Yachi looked at Hinata, who held his arms out for a hug. Yachi obliged, and hugged him back. “I knew her for 7 years, you know. Since I was a first year in highschool. She was a third year.”</p><p>“That’s… a long time,” Shoyo said. He and Tobio had known each other for that long. And even though they weren’t technically boyfriends (because Shoyo was a little cowardly bastard,) he still loved him a lot. He couldn’t imagine ever losing him.</p><p>Yachi nodded into Shoyo’s chest. “We were only dating for a year, though. I would give anything for more time with her.”</p><p>Shoyo squeezed tighter. “What’s her name?”</p><p>“Kiyoko. Shimizu Kiyoko.”</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Shoyo knew a Shimizu Kiyoko. He didn’t know if it was The Shimizu Kiyoko. But it was definitely a Shimizu Kiyoko. How many Shimizu Kiyoko’s even lived near this area?</p><p>The Shimizu Kiyoko Shoyo knew was a frequenter at the coffee shop. She would always order a small coffee and a different pastry, then sit by the window and do some work. One day, Shoyo struck up a conversation with her one day, and found her nice to talk to. They chatted a lot during his work days.</p><p>It was another day at work, and Hinata was spending his break talking to Shimizu.</p><p>She was very attractive. That went without saying. She had short, black hair and pink versions of Tsukishima’s glasses. She also had a very cute mole near the corner of her mouth, and she always covered her mouth while laughing.</p><p>Shoyo mentally slapped himself. There was a minuscule chance that this was Yachi’s girl! He briefly pondered if that was a very himbo thing to think.</p><p>Shimizu was also 33, so there was that. The age matched up with Yachi’s story. But that was pretty much all Shoyo knew.</p><p>“So,” he asked sheepishly. “What are you working on today?”</p><p>Shimizu briefly took her eyes off her papers to offer Shoyo a small smile. “Just some paperwork for the sports store.”</p><p>“Ah! Right!” Shoyo began formulating a plan in his head. “Isn’t your store next to the Green Hills apartment complex?”</p><p>Shimizu scrunched up her nose. “Yes, it is. I used to live there.”</p><p>“Really? I live there now! Apartment 667.” Shoyo watched Shimizu for a reaction.</p><p>Shimizu’s face fell instantly, and she turned her head back down so Shoyo couldn’t see. “Oh, that’s interesting.”</p><p>Shoyo ducked down too, to match her. “What’s the matter? You don’t seem too thrilled by that.”</p><p>Shoyo wondered if this was a little mean. He promised to himself that he would “accidentally” slip another pastry into Shimizu’s plate next time as an apology.</p><p>“I just… I had some very close friends who used to live in that apartment.” Shimizu’s voice was faint. “I miss them a lot.”</p><p>“Oh? My apartment?” Shoyo feigned surprise. “I’m so sorry, I shouldn’t have mentioned.”</p><p>“No, no it’s perfectly fine, Shoyo. I’m glad to see that the place is lived in again.” She smiled at him. Shoyo almost laughed. Yeah, a little too lived in.</p><p>“You could always visit?” Shoyo offered innocently. “Even if you have moved on, it could be nice? Like saying your last goodbyes?”</p><p>Shimizu met his eyes with something other than her usual calmness. She was rigid, eyes determined.</p><p>“I would like that a lot.”</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Hinata was waiting awkwardly on the couch for… something. He refused to tell Hitoka what to wait for, he just told her to chase Tsukishima and Tadashi out and turn invisible. Hitoka wanted to strangle the answer out of him, but Hinata was her friend and she really didn’t want to perpetuate the “evil ghost” stereotype, so she sat next to him, just as silent and awkward.</p><p>Finally, the doorbell rang. Hinata ran to open the door, and suddenly, Hitoka didn’t care about the evil ghost stereotype. She was simply going to strangle Hinata.</p><p>Kiyoko was standing in the doorway, looking just as beautiful as Hitoka remembered. She thanked Hinata for letting her come in quietly, took off her shoes, and sat down on the couch.</p><p>“Would you like anything?” Hinata asked. “Some water? Coffee?”</p><p>Hitoka wanted to ask for a slap in the face. Maybe a one way ticket to the Nether. She figured that Hinata probably wouldn’t indulge her.</p><p>Kiyoko laughed and Hitoka decided immediately that she had to get out of there before she fell in love again with her living ex girlfriend.</p><p>“You already give me coffee everyday, Hinata. I just wanted to see how the place was doing.”</p><p>“Oh!” Hinata shot her a big smile. “No problem! Take your time.”</p><p>Kiyoko nodded at him and got up. She ran her hands across the bookshelves on either side of the TV, and closed her eyes, as if she was trying to remember the good memories she had there. Hitoka recognized that nostalgic expression. She made it all the time.</p><p>Hitoka grabbed Hinata’s sleeve and dragged him inside the bathroom. When the door was closed, she willed herself visible and snapped her head up to look at him.</p><p>“What are you doing? How did you even find her?”</p><p>Hinata looked stunned. Hitoka paused, and took a deep breath. Right. Hinata had never seen her mad before. This was a first for him. Hitoka calmed down. “I’m sorry for snapping, really! But why did you bring her here, Hinata?”</p><p>Hinata frowned, and Hitoka instantly regretted snapping at him. “I’m sorry, Yachi. She just showed up at the shop I work at everyday. And she mentioned that she had friends that lived here. I told her she could visit if she wanted. And I know that you wanted to see her again, so I thought you’d like it.”</p><p>Hinata frowned even harder, and Hitoka mentally kicked herself.</p><p>“Hinata, this was a terrible idea. Really, where the hell did your brain go?” was what Hitoka wanted to say. She found herself saying, “Thanks, Hinata. It means a lot that you thought about me! Let’s go back out.”</p><p>Hinata beamed, and opened the door. Kiyoko was calmly walking through the kitchen, running her hands over the counter. She gave Hinata a sad smile and Hitoka wanted nothing more than to give her a hug, tell her that she was right here, she never left.</p><p>“Thank you for letting me visit. This was… really nice.”</p><p>“Oh.” Hinata smiled back. “Of course. How are you feeling?”</p><p>Kiyoko twisted a ring on her finger that Hitoka hadn’t noticed was there. Oh.</p><p>“It was nice.” Kiyoko sighed, and looked out at the apartment. “I thought I moved on a long time ago. And I had. As much as I could, anyways. But this was good closure. I made a lot of good memories here.”</p><p>Hitoka squeezed Hinata’s shoulder for support. Hinata put a hand over hers, pretending to rub his shoulder. “Do you miss them?” he asked kindly.</p><p>Kiyoko shook her head. “All the time. How could I not? But things change. You have to change with them.”</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Shimizu left, and Yachi still hadn’t turned visible. Shoyo was starting to get worried. What if she exerted too much energy and faded or something?</p><p>Shoyo looked around frantically, before hearing muffled sobs by the couch. He sat down tentatively, making sure he didn’t accidentally sit on Yachi, and poked her slightly. “Yachi?”</p><p>Yachi turned visible, and rubbed frantically at her puffy eyes. “I’m fine!”</p><p>“You are not. I didn’t even know ghosts could cry.”</p><p>Yachi stopped sniffling. “Why wouldn’t ghosts be able to cry?”</p><p>“I don’t know? Your heart isn’t beating?”</p><p>“What does that have to do with-” Yachi stopped in the middle of her confusion and started crying again. Shoyo wrapped an arm around her again and awkwardly patted her head.</p><p>“I’m sorry! I shouldn’t have brought her! I should have asked you! I’m so sorry!” Shoyo exclaimed. Somehow, Yachi just cried harder.</p><p>“No, don’t apologize! It was a wonderful gesture and I was happy to see her!” Yachi sobbed. “I just miss her. I miss living!”</p><p>Shoyo didn’t know how to respond to that. What was he supposed to say? Sucks to be dead, I guess? He rubbed circles on her back, not knowing what else to do. “Can I do anything to make you feel better? We can watch a movie! I can make popcorn!”</p><p>Yachi sobbed even harder. “I can't even EAT popcorn!”</p><p>Shoyo winced. “Right. Of Course. Just a movie, then. You can pick the movie?”</p><p>Yachi nodded slowly, and Shoyo handed her the remote so she could select a movie. It was some cheesy romcom that Shoyo had never seen. Yachi was still sniffling slightly, which made Shoyo feel slightly bad about laughing at the movie.</p><p>There was some bad joke about how the girl accidentally spilled coffee all over her crush. Yachi laughed at that, and Shoyo joined her. They looked at each other, and smiled.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Tobio came home to find Yamaguchi crouched near the couch, taking photos of a pair of people bundled up on the couch, sleeping.</p><p>“The hell’s going on here?” he grumbled. Tsukishima snorted.</p><p>“Yamaguchi’s being a proud mom,” he teased. Yamaguchi kicked his fiancé from the ground.</p><p>“Am not! I take pictures of all my friends, that doesn’t make me a mother,” he protested.</p><p>Tobio looked at the pair on the couch, Shoyo and Yachi. His face burned.</p><p>“So what? Did they get together, or something?” he spat out.</p><p>Tsukishima looked at him weirdly. “You mean Hinata, the resident idiot and Yachi, the dead lesbian? Somehow, I don’t think that's happening anytime soon.”</p><p>Ohhh. Tobio let out a sigh of relief. Not that he was holding in a breath of... unrelief. That would be stupid.</p><p>Tsukishima snickered at him again, and Tobio threw a pillow at him. Stupid.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. when will shou come back from the war</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Tobio wasn't supposed to be the clumsy one. That's what Shoyo was for. Unfortunately, he decided that now was the time to be an uncharacteristically royal fuckup.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Tobio usually liked being alone. He got to spend his alone time playing video games, or jamming to music, or trying to make toast without burning the whole place down. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Unfortunately, he was not alone. He was never alone, nowadays. He now had a dead asshole reading books on his couch in his living room and making fun of him for breathing. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You’re terrible at that level,” Tsukishima remarked sarcastically. “How the hell do you work at an arcade and a video game store and still suck at video games?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Tobio threw his controller at Tsukishima’s head. He simply phased out and the controller passed right through him, hitting the ground behind him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Saw that coming,” Tsukishima sounded bored as Tobio ran to make sure the controller wasn’t broken. He let out a sigh of relief when he realized it was fine. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He turned back to Tsukishima, who was holding back a laugh. “You.” Tobio snarled. “Are a little shit.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Is that a compliment? I’m flattered, but I happen to be engaged.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“My deepest condolences to Yamaguchi, then.” Tobio spat back. Tsukishima gave him an annoyed glare, took his glasses off his face and threw them at Tobio. It hit him between the eyes, and he stumbled back. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What the fuck!” he yelled. He picked up Tsukishima’s glasses and threw them back at him. Tsukishima held his hands up to block the glasses from hitting his face. They clattered against the floor, and the two stared at them. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Now look. You’ve made me drop my glasses,” Tsukishima deadpanned. Tobio felt his blood boil. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I have had ENOUGH of you,” he snapped. He grabbed a box of table salt from the kitchen, and practically shoved Tsukishima inside of a room and slammed the door. He quickly lined the door with salt. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Idiot. I can phase through this,” Kageyama could almost hear Tsukishima roll his eyes. He cackled loudly at the sound of Tsukishima running into a door and swearing loudly. Tobio opened the door, where Tsukishima was lying down, rubbing his head. “You are the worst roommate ever.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Tobio leaned in past the doorway, making sure his feet didn’t cross the salt barrier and mess it up accidentally. “I’m sorry, I didn’t hear that. Would you like to come outside and repeat that?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Tsukishima stuck his leg out to kick him. Tobio stumbled as he moved out of the way. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>This was a mistake. He should have just let the ghost break his rib cage. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Tobio lost his balance, and grabbed the door for support. The door closed behind him, and he fell inside the room. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh, fuck.” Tobio tried the door. Locked. He banged on the door loudly. “YACHI? YAMAGUCHI?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“They aren’t here,” Tsukishima groaned, still on the ground. Yamaguchi’s having ‘lunch,’” Tsukishima put air quotes around ‘lunch,’ “with Oikawa and Iwaizumi. And Yachi’s drawing. She’s not going to leave the attic for another five hours. We’re stuck because of you, idiot.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hey, no. This is not my fault. This is all your fault!” Tobio pointed an accusing finger at Tsukishima. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Give me one good reason why this was my fault.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Tobio faltered. “Well, you’re the one who kicked me!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You shoved me into a room and lined it with salt, you dipshit! Any ghost worth a damn would have killed you by now!” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Tobio slammed his head into the door multiple times. Maybe if he did it enough, he would pass out and not have to deal with Tsukishima until Hinata unlocked the door. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What, are you trying to break the door with your thick skull, or something? The landlord is going to have your ass.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m trying to knock myself out.” Tobio groaned. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Ohhh. Well you could have told me. I’m happy to help. It might be therapeutic, actually.” Tsukishima sneered at him. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Tobio grabbed a pillow from his bed and threw it at Tsukishima’s face. Tsukishima threw it back at him, and reached for his glasses, probably to throw them at Tobio. He patted his face pathetically for a while before groaning. “Shit. My glasses are still outside.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Tobio snorted. “Did you not notice when your eyesight got all…” Tobio waved his hand in front of his eyes, as a useless visual representation,  “blurry or whatever?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Tsukishima flushed. “Well, I don’t. Actually need my glasses.” He rubbed his neck and looked off to the side. “To see.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Don’t you have working ears? I don’t need glasses to see properly. Physical ailments go away once you up and fucking die, I guess.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Tobio blinked at Tsukishima, who was looking everywhere but at Tobio. “So- so why the fuck do you wear glasses then?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Tsukishima mumbled something, and Tobio cocked his ear closer. “Sorry? I didn’t catch that?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s for the aesthetic,” he mumbled louder. “I just got used to wearing them, and they looked cool.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Tobio decided he was done with this conversation. He flopped down on his bed and screamed into a pillow. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Eloquent.”</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>“People who wear glasses for the ‘aesthetic’ aren’t allowed to judge me.” Tobio flipped him off from behind. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Tobio rolled around in his bed and stared up at the ceiling. Tsukishima had sat on the floor next to his dresser, repeatedly knocking on the wood. Tobio checked the clock on his dresser, and fell back on his pillow and groaned. “Shoyo doesn’t come back for half an hour.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“So our best bet is that annoying orange looking boy? Great.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Tobio felt a rush of anger towards Tsukishima, for whatever reason. “Don’t call him that, jackass. Only I can call him annoying.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Tobio swore he saw a genuine smile flash across Tsukishima’s face, before being replaced by his normal asshole-ish grin. “Of course. My bad.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You’re a dick, you know?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah.” Tsukishima smiled almost wistfully. “I know.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“So you’re just. Not gonna do anything to help us get out? Can’t you like, blast the door or something?” Tobio asked. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Ok, first of all. I am a ghost. Not a grenade.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“But you have all those powers and stuff.”</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“In what universe is precognition the same thing as blowing stuff up?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Fine then!” Tobio threw his hands up in surrender. “How should we get out?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Tsukishima shrugged. “What time’s the midget coming home?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Tobio seethed. “Half hour.”</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Then we wait for half an hour until he unlocks us.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That’s stupid. I want to get out now.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Spirits!” Tsukishima groaned and let his head fall backwards into the wall. “You’re like a toddler! If you hate my ideas so much, how do you propose we get out of this room, oh great king of the complex?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Tobio snarled. “I’m not the king of the complex, dipshit. And if I am the king, what does that make Shoyo? He lives here too!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I don’t fucking know.” Tsukishima shrugged. “The peasant you’re seeing on the side.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m not- he’s not-” Tobio groaned. “This is bullshit! You shouldn’t even be here!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, neither of us should be here. Someone happened to lock us in-”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No!” Tobio cut a stunned Tsukishima out. “I mean, you three shouldn’t even be here! This is my apartment now. Mine and Shoyo’s. You three don’t even belong here anymore! And the fact that you’re still here, ruining my life, is such. Bullshit!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Tsukishima stilled, and Tobio was starting to panic just a little. He realized that angering a potentially vengeful ghost while they were stuck in the same room was a terrible idea, and he was an eyelash’s length apart from being sent to the Nether. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That’s exactly what I meant.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Tobio wasn’t expecting the dry, emotionless response. “Huh?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I said, that’s exactly what I meant. Fucking king of the apartment, thinks it’s his because he got a cheap rent for it and can’t get out of the lease. You think I want to stay here with you and that shrimp? You think I want to share my home with 4 other people?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Tobio couldn’t find anything to say to that. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s not like I wanted to fucking die here! We weren’t even supposed to die here! Our lives got so royally fucked up that we ended up literally trapped here as ghosts and all you can think about is the fact that you have to share the bathroom with a few extra people now. You’re a selfish idiot.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Tobio sat upright on his bed, looking awkwardly at his sheets. “I’m not selfish.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Tsukishima snorted. “Sure, you aren’t.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I was just looking forward to sharing an apartment with Shoyo.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Of course you were.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>They sat in awkward silence for a while. Tobio played with his fingers while Tsukishima was staring angrily at the door. “It’s not that bad, though." Tobio coughed. "Sharing it with Yamaguchi and Yachi. You’re a little unbearable, but still.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Tsukishima turned away from the door to face Tobio and snorted slightly in response. “Wow, thanks. Much appreciated.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The two of them sat in Tobio’s room, just idly chatting to pass time. Tobio pulled out a deck of cards from his bedside drawer and Tsukishima dealt. They played Egytpian Ratscrew for a while, before switching to Rummy when Tsukishima won all the rounds. Tobio grabbed a few cards and tried to demonstrate some close up magic, where Tsukshima immediately pointed out all the tricks Tobio was doing. Tobio threw a card at him, and they stuck with playing Snap. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Tsukishima was about to shuffle the deck for a new round, when his eyes rolled back in his head. The whites of his eyes shifted into a deep shade of black. Tobio nearly yelped. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hey! What’s wrong with you! If you get sent to the Nether while I’m here, Yamaguchi and Yachi will kill me!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Tsukishima’s eyes rolled back normally, only for him to roll his eyes at Tobio. “Premonition. Hinata’s coming home in one minute.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Tobio jumped up from his place on the floor, scattering cards everywhere. He banged on the door wildly. “Shoyo! SHOYO! SHOYO HELP!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Spirits,” Tsukshima closed his ears and grumbled. “Give him the minute.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Tobio heard the front door swing open, and he started banging on the door even harder. “SHOU! SHOUUU! HELP!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Tobi?” Shoyo sounded confused. Tobio could hear a bag thumping on the floor. “Did you get stuck in your sweater again or something?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Did you </span>
  <em>
    <span>what</span>
  </em>
  <span>?” Tsukishima laughed out loud. Tobio glared at him. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Tobio, why is there salt on the floor? Please don’t tell me you tried to cook again. You’re really bad at it.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Tobio slammed on the door again. “Tsukishima and I got locked in. The salt line’s keeping him out.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“....Ok, sure. How the hell did a salt line get there in the first place?”</span>
  <span></span><br/>
<span><br/>
</span>
  <span>“Long story.” Tsukishima rubbed his temple. “Please, just unlock the door.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Surrre.” Shoyo unlocked the door and Tobio tumbled out, wrapping Shoyo in a tight hug. He honestly did not care how red he was, looking at anyone else was better than Tsukishima. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh my god. Never leave the apartment again. I’m begging you,” Tobio mumbled into Shoyo’s hair. Shoyo sputtered. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I- but why- what even- when did-”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Someone cleared their throat from behind them, and the two of them turned to see Tsukishima standing by the doorway, looking very amused. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“So. Does someone want to break the salt line?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Tobio slammed the door shut and allowed himself an uncharacteristic grin as Tsukishima rapped on the door. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“When I get out of here I am </span>
  <em>
    <span>so </span>
  </em>
  <span>sending you to the Nether!”  </span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Follow me on <a href="https://twitter.com/WlNTERSMAFUYU">Twitter</a></p></blockquote></div></div>
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